Expect the Unexpected
by percyjacksonfan135
Summary: AU. It's a normal weekend for the Martin twins on the S.S. Tiptin. Or that's what everyone else thinks. But something completely unexpected happens; something that not even Zack is prepared for. But when he finds himself suddenly responsible for a mysterious toddler with no memory and special needs, Zack finally is able to be himself. And, what's up with Tutweiller? Disabled; OC.
1. Calm Before the Storm

Authors note: here I am again. But this time, I am trying something completely different. I hope you all enjoy this new story of mine; it kind of came to me in a very strange dream I had last night. Anyway, read to find out what happens in this new and exciting story of mine. Disclaimer: I do not own the suite life of Zack and Cody. It belongs to the Disney channel.

Expect the Unexpected

Chapter 1:

Calm before the Storm

Zack and Cody Martin, who were identical twins and 10 minutes apart from each other, were on the sky deck of the SS Tipton, a ship that served as the high school that they and their other friends attended. The high school was called Seven Seas Hi because, obviously, the students were not only going to high school, but also traveling around the world in the process. Since it was the weekend however, both of the Martin twins had decided to sleep in a little as they rarely got a chance to do that. But now that it was the afternoon, they both were on the sky deck doing their respective jobs. Cody was putting out clean towels for the passengers while his brother, Zack, worked at the smoothie bar. One could say that this was a normal routine for the boys as they worked on the sky deck every weekend and sometimes even after school.

Speaking of school, the first day of the new semester was going to start on Monday and the boys were extremely nervous about it. They weren't nervous because of the fact that their teacher, Miss Tutweiller, was strict; no, this was something completely different. It was the fact that the twins were going into their sophomore year and they knew without a doubt that it was going to be one of the toughest, strangest, and most rewarding years ever. They didn't know how they knew that; they just did.

Also, although Zack had a tendency to fool around a lot, he was actually a very smart person, especially when it came to knowing and understanding when his friends or others were in trouble. I'm not talking about getting into trouble for pranks or anything like that; I'm talking about the fact that Zack could always tell when someone truly needed help; whether it would be some advice, a hug, or just anything. However, Zack didn't usually show this side of himself to anyone very often, so everyone just kind of assumed that he enjoyed being a troublemaker and a prankster.

It didn't help that the ship's manager, Mr. Moseby, was always the first person to call him out on something that he genuinely did not do. I'm not saying that Mr. Moseby was a mean person or anything; no, he was very kind, in fact. It's just that he was under a lot of stress with not only being the ship's manager, but he was also the chaperone for the students at Seven Seas Hi, and it wasn't an easy job to look after a bunch of teenagers who, in his mind, were unruly and wild.

Anyway, enough about that. This story starts while the Martin twins are cleaning up on the sky deck. the two of them worked in silence for a while until Cody broke it by asking, "Zack, why do you do it? Goof off in class, I mean?"

The elder of the twins looked genuinely surprised and shocked. His younger brother had never asked a question like that before, and he was a little taken aback. He thought about downright lying to Cody, but Zack decided to answer honestly. "Well, sometimes, it's difficult for me to show people who I really am because they don't really take me seriously anyway. All people see when they look at me is a troublemaker, a jokester, a hooligan. I guess it's my way of letting out some frustration."

Cody was honestly surprised by Zack's reply. He hadn't known that his older brother by 10 minutes was feeling so alone and isolated. He also hadn't known that his brother felt like he was stuck in Cody's academic shadow; maybe even brushed aside by others unintentionally. "Is that why you started talking to Mr. Blanket at the end of last year?"

Zack nodded his head and said, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, it's just that I thought you would laugh at me or something. It's hard for me to be myself when Moseby doesn't always listen to me. Tutweiller's a little more understanding; she's the one who told me to see the counselor last year. Sometimes I feel like she and Blanket are the only adults who know the real me. Cody, I want to be myself, I just don't know how."

When Cody looked at his twin, he suddenly realized that he was seeing a hint of what Zack had been hiding from everyone for a long time. For the first time, Cody was seeing a tiny flicker of Zack. But it wasn't Zack the class clown, or Zack the arrogant jerk Cody was used to; this was the real Zack. The Zack who was not only smart, but he was also very kind and caring toward those who desperately needed it. "Zack," Cody said gently, "nothing is ever going to stop you from being the real you. Although I wish you had told me sooner, I understand why you didn't at first. I didn't realize that you were feeling overshadowed or that people were unintentionally brushing you to the side. From now on, I will make more of an effort to be more of a brother to you." And just as an afterthought, Cody added, "don't let what Moseby tells you bother you so much. I don't think he realizes that he is actually hurting you instead of helping you."

It was late at night and Zack was actually trying to do his homework. Although he was extremely tired, he wanted to finish his report before midnight. He had actually started his homework shortly after him and Cody's conversation, but it took him a long time to get through everything. His roommate, Marcus Little, was fast asleep and snoring slightly and the lights were turned off. The only light that was coming from the full moon outside and the blue glow from Zack's laptop screen made him look almost eerie in the semi darkness as he worked steadily. After confessing everything to his brother, Zack did everything he could to be himself and to not be afraid of being himself. It was worth it, but Zack had finally seen a small smile playing across Miss Tutweiller's lips as she saw that Zack's summer assignments had been handed to her on time for once.

I guess I forgot to mention this, but as this particular school is somewhat of a special school, it had an accelerated program, which meant that although it was summer time, everyone was going to school year-round; even in the summer. But anyway, it wasn't until the next day that something completely unexpected happened.

So, do you like it? Do you hate it? Please let me know if there are any spelling mistakes as I am not as familiar with this Phantom or the way that the adults spell their last names. Anyway, reviews are appreciated as long as you are being helpful. Also, if anyone has a similar title, please let me know so I can change it.


	2. Restless Days and Sleepless Nights

Here is the second chapter to my story; enjoy. Again, I do not own the suite life. It all belongs to Disney and the Disney Channel.

Chapter 2:

Restless Days and Sleepless Nights

While Zack was just falling into dream land, his younger brother Cody stayed awake for a little while longer. He kept thinking about what Zack had told him; it haunted him for the rest of the day and well into the night. But Cody tried hard to squash these thoughts as he was tired and he really didn't want to wake up cranky. But, it was no use. What Zack had told his younger brother, stayed with Cody. Because, somehow, he knew that his older brother was telling the truth; that he was really feeling this way. "I'll try and make it up to him this semester," the younger twin thought to himself. "I'll even help him with his homework." It was very late, but Cody managed to fall into a very restless and uneasy sleep.

Meanwhile, Zack was abruptly awakened from his own uneasy sleep. He didn't know what or whom had awakened him, but he could tell that something weird and mysterious was about to happen. Normally, Zack liked that kind of stuff, but this time, it was giving him a very bad feeling as though something or someone was in serious trouble. He looked over at Marcus who was still fast asleep. "How can you sleep so soundly?" Zack thought to himself. "How can you not feel that? I know that it is after curfew, but I don't care; something is going to happen, and I have a feeling that it won't be pleasant." So, being as silent as he could, Zack crept out of his cabin and stepped into the hallway where he was merely given a heart attack. Apparently, Cody had the same thoughts as his older brother and as he came out of his own cabin, he almost collided with Zack as it was extremely dark and hard to see anything or anyone clearly. "What the hell?" Zack whisper shouted, "what are you doing out here? You scared me half to death!" He told Cody as his eyes adjusted and was finally able to see him properly.

"Same thing as you," Cody answered his brother. "I couldn't sleep. And anyway, do you really want to get caught by Moseby or Tutweiller? It's way past curfew!"

Zack scowled lightly. "No, but I don't care at this point," he answered. "Can't you feel it? Something is about to happen, or maybe it already has, and I don't like it. Come on; let's go to the sky deck. I feel a very strange urge to go there." Cody didn't really want to, but something inside of him was telling him to do otherwise. So, reluctantly, he allowed his older brother to pull him along as quickly and silently as they dared to go. How no one else was awake at this hour was extremely strange and unnerving to the boys, but as long as they didn't get caught, they didn't care.

When they arrived on the deserted sky deck, the strange, eerie feeling grew stronger as they suddenly realized that the deserted sky deck wasn't quite deserted. Sure, Bailey, Woody, London, and everyone else were in bed, but something was on the sky deck with the teenage twins, and that something was giving them the creeps. Well, not so much the creeps as concern. When the boys got closer to what ever or whom ever was there, they suddenly gasped in horror as they realized that the something was actually a someone; a very small someone at that. But that's not what made them look at each other with pure anger blazing in their eyes. It was the fact that whoever was lying there looked absolutely horrible.

Whoever was lying there not only looked extremely pale, but he or she was covered in bruises, cuts, some of which were still bleeding a little, and it also looked as though the poor little thing had been tied up for a very long time. They could also see a small strip of cloth covering the child's mouth and being his reckless and irrational self, Zack immediately rushed over to help the strange toddler. As he worked on the ropes, Cody asked somewhat fearfully, "who do you suppose did this? Because I would like to give them a piece of my mind. What do you think Mom would say if she saw this?"

"It's hard to say," the elder twin answered, "she would be angry, that's for sure. As for giving the person who did this a piece of your mind, you can't. I know it seems unfair, and I know this may be difficult for you to accept, but you can't give the person a piece of your mind because whoever they are, they are gone and they are probably going to be gone for a very long time. This might sound weird, but I think this is why we were awakened so abruptly. I mean; seriously? What sane person would tie up a two year old and leave them for dead? I just don't understand that!"

"How do you know how old this kid is?" Cody asked curiously. "You don't even know the child."

Zack rolled his eyes in slight irritation. "It was just a guess on my part. Now, come on; are you going to help me with her or not?" But before the younger twin could answer, Zack suddenly spotted a note lying next to the small child. Picking it up, Zack read it to himself. And the more he read, the angrier he got. The note read as follows.

To whoever finds this child; I am forever grateful for your kind and generous heart. I would have loved to continue caring for my baby, but sadly, my second husband, her step-father, was hurting her. She does not deserve this; she does not understand how vile he is. Please, take care of my daughter; keep her safe from those who may wish her harm. Sadly I cannot as I have jumped overboard. To whomever finds this note, please, forgive me for my sudden and quick suicide, but I just couldn't take it any longer. There was no signature, but the mysterious woman included a postscript. Please be extra careful with my daughter as she has completely lost her memory. In addition to this, she also has a few permanent disabilities which include legal blindness, cerebral palsy, and a dormant seizure disorder. All of this is because of my second husband. Whatever you do, stay away from him, and don't trust anyone whom you don't know.

When Zack finished reading the note, he had turned ghostly white! After finding out that the child had been abused, he was furious! How could anyone do something so vile? How could anyone cause so much pain to someone so young? 1 million questions were chasing each other around Zack's mind as he read and reread the note from the mysterious woman. "This is just downright cruel," he thought to himself. "This poor kid no longer has her mom because she couldn't handle her husband and her special needs daughter any longer. Did she want the kid to get hurt? Was she really so selfish as to abandon her and take her own life?" Zack wordlessly handed over the note to his younger twin as he finished undoing the ropes from around the child's body and removed the cloth from her mouth. As soon as Zack had done so, the little toddler whimpered in pain and fear as she tried to make eye contact with him. As soon as she had done so, Zack immediately noticed that the child's eyes were completely normal. However, he noticed that she didn't really realize he was even there; as if her brain wasn't registering or processing what she was seeing. But when he moved his hand around, especially to a certain side of her body, the little girl tried to track the movement, but she was becoming exhausted, as if it was a great effort to do even that much. She whimpered again and Zack took her into his arms gingerly. He did not want to hurt her any further and she was clearly terrified. "It's okay little one," he whispered gently. "We will make sure that no one will hurt you anymore.

Cody had finished reading the note and he looked just as confused as his brother had, but he was confused for a completely different reason. He knew about blindness and how it affected people's eyes, but he had found something in the note that Zack had missed entirely. It read as follows. In case you are wondering about the reason for my daughter's visual impairment, there are a couple of things that must be explained. First, my daughter is legally blind because of a brain injury; not the eyes. Second, this is one of the most misunderstood visual impairments because the brain can only process so much at a time. Third, she was not born this way but it was thanks to my second husband. The cerebral palsy however, she has had that all of her life.

"Well," Zack said heavily, "it looks like we will have to do some very important things when we get back to land. We may even need to talk to Mom and see if she would be willing to help us pay for some of this kid's medical expenses."

"I know what you mean," Cody said quietly. "I don't like this; whoever did this must have been extremely stupid. Have you forgotten that we are teenagers who know nothing about little kids, let alone little kids with special needs?" But Zack had already stood up with said child.

"Well, I don't know about you," he said dryly, "but have you forgotten that this kid is hurt? I'm going to find some bandages for her, and then I'm going to talk to Mr. Moseby. I really could care less if I get caught at this point. This kid needs me." And with that, Zack carried the toddler off of the sky deck and went toward where the first aid kits were kept. The small child tried and failed to wriggle out of Zack's grip, but she was even too exhausted to do that. Although the toddler was absolutely terrified, and had no memory of who she was or that the fact that her mother was gone forever, she felt strangely safe in the young teen's arms. But when they passed the pool however, her big, brown eyes grew wide with fear and she suddenly began to cry as if she was afraid that Zack would throw her in. Zack must've noticed the child's behavior because he hugged her more securely and whispered gently, "you scared of the water, baby girl? Don't worry; I won't let anything happen to you. Shhh..." and without really thinking about it, Zack began rocking the toddler back and forth as he continued down the hallway toward the chaperone's cabins.

In the next chapter, you will all know the little girl's name; maybe even where she had come from. Anyway, please review, and if any of you have any questions about anything, let me know. See you next time.


	3. Lucy

Disclaimer: I do not own the suite life series or its characters.

Chapter 3:

Lucy

The night seemed to drag on forever. The Martin twins were very anxious and scared. Cody had gone back to his cabin to try and get some much-needed sleep while Zack took the toddler to bandage her up. The poor child was squirming futilely and as if Zack sensed her discomfort, he placed a gentle hand on top of her soft, dark hair to calm her down. For whatever reason, it seemed to work. It was dark in the first aide cabin, but by some small miracle, Zack could still see what he was doing, and for that, he was grateful. The child on the other hand was a different story.

Since she couldn't see very well to begin with and her rescuer wasn't really talking too much, the child was very confused and more than a little frightened. Sure, she could see the movements of what Zack was doing, but since this was an unfamiliar area to her, the toddler acted as though she was completely blind for the time being. She cried a little when Zack used rubbing alcohol to clean out some of her more serious cuts, but other than that, she stayed quiet. She kept looking up at Zack, or what she could see of him anyway. His blond hair must've caught a shaft of moonlight, because the toddler seemed extremely fascinated by it and wanted to touch it.

Zack laughed a little as the two year old tried and failed to reach his soft, blond hair. She really, really wanted to touch it! As soon as he was done bandaging her up, Zack scooped up the toddler in his arms and bent close to her so that she could touch his hair. "You are a good girl," he said quietly. "A very good girl." Just then, Zack noticed that the toddler was chewing on something that dangled from her wrist. The way it glinted in the moonlight told Zack that it was a bracelet of some sort and it was metal, so he didn't really feel that it was very safe for the little girl to chew on it. Zack gently removed the metal bracelet chain out of the toddler's mouth. "No-no kiddo," he said gently. "I don't think that's very safe for you to chew on." But then something written on the bracelet caught his attention. "It's a medical bracelet!" He realized. "But it says nothing about memory loss; it just says legal blindness and mild to moderate cerebral palsy."

The little toddler was sad, confused, scared, and her muscles were really hurting her. Whenever she got scared or upset, she would become as stiff as a board and it didn't help that she was with a stranger. Said stranger also realized that there was a name on the bracelet, so he tried to jog her memory by using it.

"Hey Lucy," Zack said gently, "you and I are going to go have a little talk with the manager. Won't that be fun?" Zack saw the toddler's Brown eyes staring up at him, but they were full of confusion as if she didn't even know her own name. Seeing the sadness and confusion in the child's eyes broke Zack's heart nearly in half. "Awe sweetie; you don't remember your own name? We'll have to get you to a doctor when we get to land. That's for sure!" But for some odd reason, at the mention of medical attention, little Lucy began crying even harder as if she was frightened by the possibility that a doctor would need to look her over. Zack was at a loss as to what to do. He knew the child was lost and scared and that she probably would need some form of special help all her life, but this was different. He absolutely had no idea that she had been in the hospital for her seizures as a baby because they wouldn't stop. Zack also didn't understand quite yet that although she had been very young, Lucy absolutely hated being in and around hospitals because the very smell of them triggered things that she was far too young to comprehend. But he did understand that the small child was deeply traumatized by something and desperately needed someone to love and take care of her. "Hey, hey," he said quietly, "it's okay kiddo, it's okay. Please don't cry; please don't."

Just then, a cabin door opened behind Zack and an angry voice whispered, "what are you doing out of your cabin? It's 2:30 in the morning! Go back to bed, or its detention, Mr. Martin."

Zack turned around and came face-to-face with the ship's manager, Mr. Moseby. He gave a sigh of relief, but then scowled as the manager's angry voice had sent the small child into a fit of panicked screams while clinging to Zack's neck. "I know it's after curfew, and I'm sorry for that, but I came to you because Cody and I found this poor child abandoned on the sky deck about an hour ago," Zack explained as calmly as he could while he tried to hold back his anger. "I was hoping that you could help. This little one has no one as far as I understand. Her mother is unfortunately dead, and her stepfather's a jerk. If you don't believe me, look at this." And without another word, Zack handed Mr. Moseby the mysterious woman's letter. As Moseby read it to himself, Zack watched him anxiously. The last thing he needed right now was an angry manager on his hands. Zack couldn't really blame the man for thinking that it was just another one of his and Cody's pranks, and somehow, he also wished, deep inside, that it was. But, there was a very real and alive toddler clinging to him for dear life; covering him in drool and snot along with tears.

After a little while, Mr. Moseby looked at the teenager and his face softened a fraction. He had never seen Zack so concerned before but then again, he was always reprimanding him for many things; some of which were not his fault. And just like Cody had earlier, Mr. Moseby really studied the young teen's face and saw nothing but gentle compassion, protectiveness, love, and even a little bit of fear for the child he held. It was then that the manager of the hotel and now the cruise ship finally realized that he was seeing Zack as he truly was and not the troublemaker he believed him to be. "Zack," he said quietly. "I believe that you are telling me the truth, so I will do everything I can to help you. Did you or Cody see anything else on the sky deck besides the child? Where did she come from?"

"We don't really know where she came from," Zack answered. "All I know is that her name is Lucy and she has a little bit of amnesia and some other disabilities. Other than that, we had no clue she was even on the boat until one o'clock this morning. Was her mother a passenger of this ship by any chance?"

Mr. Moseby frowned as he answered, "I'm not allowed to say, but I will tell you what I will do. I will talk to Emma first thing in the morning. But right now, since this little one seems to be so attached to you, you and Cody must take care of her until other family members can be found. Do you understand?"

Zack nodded his head and smiled back as he carried the toddler back up toward the sky deck. He wanted to see if there was anything else, and sure enough, there was everything he needed to take care of her. How Zack had entirely missed that, he had no idea. But one thing was for sure. He was going to buckle down in school and stop messing around. He wanted to be himself, and do better in school. And the little girl in his arms gave him a reason to do so.

In the midst of all the hullabaloo, Zack hadn't noticed that the poor child was soaked and had needed to be changed a while ago. Again, how he had completely missed that was beyond him. Sure, he remembered watching some of the younger kids at the small daycare at the hotel back in Boston, but that was a very long time ago. He himself had only been at least eight years old at the time and his memory was a little fuzzy on the details of it all, but he should have remembered that not every two year old was potty trained, especially not this one. "Well, it's kind of a no-brainer right there," he thought to himself. "She probably doesn't even realize she's wet and she kind of can't walk. So, duh, Zack; get it through your head." It took a long time, but Zack, with some minor difficulty, managed to change her and the little girl looked marginally happier after that. And without further hesitation, the oldest twin took her and everything with him back to his cabin to hopefully have some much-needed rest before morning.


	4. An Unusual Past

I am so sorry that it took me so long to update. I really want to take my time with this story because I want it to make sense to everyone. Anyway, disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from the suite life series. They belong to the Disney channel.

Chapter 4:

An Unusual Past

Although it was very late at night now, Zack found it very difficult to fall back asleep; not that he had much sleep that night to begin with. He was lying in his bed with the small toddler he had rescued. He didn't think it was very safe for her to be alone in a bed with no guard rails, so he opted to hold her in his arms instead. It was very difficult for the little one to fall asleep because, not only was she with a bunch of young kids whom she didn't know, she was in a lot of pain. It was this that actually kept Zack from falling asleep himself. He didn't show it very often, but right now, he was extremely worried. The little girl he was holding was, for the most part, totally dependent on him, and Zack had no idea what he was doing. He was just as, if not more frightened than the little girl. Zack didn't really want to admit it, but he was terrified of making a mistake, especially with her. And as the teenager wrestled with his own thoughts, he was somewhat oblivious to the frightened whimpers of the toddler, but he wasn't completely oblivious as his arms tightened around her; instinctively and effectively holding her in place as she thrashed around. Whatever she was dreaming about, Zack couldn't really tell. But he knew somehow that whatever the toddler was reliving in her mind was probably terrible.

Lucy had finally fallen asleep against the teenager's chest, but it didn't mean it was easy. Being very young, she had little to no memory of what had happened to her and she didn't even know her own name, but there was a very good reason why she was so frightened of the pool or water in general. When Lucy was around 18 months old, and her mother was still alive, her step dad wanted nothing to do with her and he tried everything to get rid of her. He had shaken her, dropped her on purpose, and last but not least, he had thrown her in the water; knowing full well that the 18 month old could not swim. She had nearly drowned, but her mother had saved her. After that, the toddler was not the same. She was born with the ability to see perfectly and she had until those few incidents with her mother's second husband. She had lost her memory not from being shaken or dropped on her head, but from being nearly drowned. That very act alone had caused the toddler to become deeply traumatized. And along with that, was the inability to recognize her mom or anyone whom she had ever known.

The poor child had woken herself up by coughing and choking as if she were still in the water and she struggled against Zack's arms as hard as she could. The young teen seemed to realize that something was terribly wrong with her because he had accidentally woken Marcus up in the process. "What's going on?" Marcus asked sleepily. And then his eyes landed on the little girl in his roommate's arms. He looked genuinely surprised, but at the same time, he seemed to recognize the little girl somehow. "Whoa! Is it just me, or does that little girl look awfully familiar to you?" Marcus asked curiously. "I can't explain it, but I feel as though I've seen her before!"

Zack sighed heavily. He was extremely worried about the child, and now that his roommate had asked him that question, the more he realized that her behavior was almost the exact same as when he and Cody had found her earlier. Zack hadn't realized it, but she had been coughing and choking then as well, but he didn't hear her then because he hadn't been as close to her as he was now. She acted as though she was drowning then as well, but he hadn't realized that the poor thing had been asleep and was having a terrible nightmare about something she couldn't even remember. It was only when he had picked her up the first time that Zack had realized that she had been fighting him then as well; sort of as though she was still struggling in the water, trying to breathe, trying to stay alive. The more he thought about it, the more Zack realized that Marcus was absolutely right. This little girl looked extremely familiar, but the young teen wasn't really sure where he had seen her either. Did he or someone else on the ship rescue her from the water a few months ago without thinking about it? If so, why hadn't anyone remembered doing so? "You're right Marcus," Zack said sadly. "Lucy looks awfully familiar to me too; it's just, I don't remember any of us rescuing her from the water. She was 18 months old when this happened to her, I'm sure of it! I wish I knew what to do, but I don't. I am so worried! This little one doesn't even recognize her own name, let alone the one parent who selfishly chose to throw herself overboard." Zack's face turned slightly red in his anger. "I just don't understand it! How can a mother be so selfish; leaving her daughter to fend for herself like that? The poor child can barely take care of herself! She may be already two years old, but she still isn't able to speak, walk, and she is still in diapers. Man Marcus, I don't know what I'm going to do. School starts tomorrow and it's not like I can take her with me; now can I? What would Tutweiller say?"

Marcus looked at Zack's extremely worried face. He realized that the little girl's condition was really affecting him, so he refrained from teasing him. "Look," Marcus said gently. "I don't know what she would say, and I don't know why that child's mother did what she did, but the fact is that what is done is done. This child is your responsibility now. I don't know why she had chosen you or what the reasons were, but trust me when I tell you this. That little girl's mother feared for her daughter's safety and for reasons unknown to me, she thought she could trust you enough to keep her safe. You may be a goof off at times, but when it comes to protecting the people you care about, you are like a Mama lion; I swear! If you follow your own heart, you will eventually know and understand what to do for this child."

Time skip: it was already the afternoon and both twins were once again working at their respective jobs on the sky deck. It took a lot of coaxing on Zack's part, but finally Marcus and Bailey had agreed to watch Lucy for him while he worked at the juice bar. And to a lot of people's surprise, Zack didn't try to flirt with anyone or spit in anyone's drinks. Ever since the little girl had arrived in his life, Zack did his very best to turn over a new leaf. He still joked around a little bit, but he had resolved to become more responsible, and he actually felt much better about it. Zack knew somehow that the mysterious little girl was helping him to become who he really was; bringing out his true personality.

Meanwhile, Cody was just folding up his last towel. But as he worked, he could not stop thinking about the little girl. He was just as worried about her as Zack was. He had not had much interaction with her however, so Cody wasn't sure how she would react to him. He tried to block out all of these thoughts as he worked, but Cody was completely startled when he saw his ex-girlfriend, Bailey, running onto the sky deck with said little girl in tow. Marcus was right behind her looking panic stricken. Before he could say anything however, Cody looked up just in time to see his friends practically sprinting over to the juice bar where Zack was working diligently. But when he saw his friends running toward him with panicked looks on their faces, Zack immediately grew worried. In order to explain, let me back up a little bit.

Bailey and Marcus were watching the toddler as the elder of the Martin twins was working. Bailey thought she was extremely adorable and since she was raised in a big family, she sort of knew what to do regarding little kids. But since none of her siblings had disabilities of any kind, Bailey was a little unsure of what to do for the toddler. But it was made even more difficult by the fact that Lucy didn't really know or recognize the other teenagers even though Bailey had agreed with Marcus that she looked extremely familiar.

Bailey was playing with the toddler; lifting her high in the air and blowing raspberries on her stomach, just the way she had always done to some of her younger siblings when they were really little. However, this little girl had an extremely messed up neurological system, so unknown to Bailey, she was actually irritating the child's sensory system more than usual. The poor thing was actually really frightened and Bailey seemed to realize this as she tried everything possible to calm her down. But nothing would. As weird as it sounded, even though the child didn't really know Zack or remember him, something about him seemed familiar to the toddler, so the teenagers did the only thing they could. They ran up to the sky deck with the little girl, hoping that she would calm down soon. And that was where they were.

When Zack finished making his last juice drink of the day, and finished cleaning up, he was met with a pair of extremely distressed teenagers and an even more distressed two-year-old. Zack's heart completely melted at the sight of her looking so lost and scared. "I'm sorry," Bailey said quietly, "we tried; really we did. It's just, she wasn't calming down and we didn't know what to do."

Zack smiled gently at his friends. "It's all right, you guys," he told them kindly. "I really appreciate you guys watching her for me. I know it's not easy, but I really didn't know what to do. I don't even know if the cruise ship has a daycare. I can't really bring her to school with me once it starts up again. Could you maybe ask someone about that for me?" But Zack missed Bailey's confirming nod as he took the toddler from her and into his own arms once again. And just like that, Lucy quieted down immediately and tried to touch Zack's blond hair, but failed to do so. "Oh pumpkin," he whispered, "it's hard for you; isn't it?" But the baby just looked up at him blankly as if she didn't understand the question. Which, in all honesty, she probably didn't. Instead, she just cried; wanting to be fed. Zack seemed to realize this because he somehow found a few boxes of Cheerios and stuff like that behind the juice counter along with a bowl and a toddler spoon. He wasn't sure if the child was able to feed herself or not, but Zack figured that out pretty quickly when he had handed her the spoon. It was pretty clear that it was immensely difficult for the child, so Zack took the spoon and spoon fed her himself. Unknown to him, Cody, Marcus, and Bailey were watching him from a distance and smiling a secret smile.

But it was Bailey who broke the silence as she said, "Zack, I never thought I would say this, but you are a natural with small children." Zack didn't say anything, but he smiled at his friend; genuinely happy that she acknowledged him for his true personality and didn't resent him for it.

Does anyone have any guesses as to how and why Lucy looks and seems familiar to the people on the cruise ship? Private message me or give me a review with your guesses. Anyone who guesses correctly will get a virtual cookie.


	5. Violet's Request

I truly apologize for taking so long with this chapter. I had a ton of writer's block with it and I had no idea what I was going to do. I thought about doing the episode of Parrot Island, but it didn't seem right, so I'm going to do something else. Hopefully this will clear a lot of questions up that people may have had. As always, don't be afraid to ask questions. Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of the suite life on deck; they belong to Disney and the Disney Channel.

Chapter 5:

Violet's Request

It had been over a month since Cody and Zack found the mysterious two-year-old. School was in full swing, and luckily the cruise ship had a daycare that the toddler could go to while the boys were in school. As no one else had claimed Lucy as their own as of yet, the teenagers were still responsible for her until someone came to claim her. Lucy was slowly getting used to Cody, but it wasn't easy. Being legally blind, it was difficult for her to realize that he was not the same as Zack. Sure, they looked the same, but their personalities were quite different from one another. However, it was because of their looks that the toddler often got confused between the two of them.

As she wasn't able to walk yet, it was difficult for others to realize that she was right there in front of them and they often almost tripped over her. This was understandably frightening for Lucy, as she often got lost while crawling around and more often than not, Zack would rock her in his arms, especially if she would get too close to the pool. Yes, she was still terrified of it, and only Zack and Cody understood the reason why. It was extremely exhausting, but the teenagers truly loved the toddler and they didn't want anything to happen to her, so they guard at her with their lives.

True to his word, Zack worked harder in school and didn't fool around like he used to. Sure, his friendships were very important to him, but since he had a very strange feeling that he would most likely end up being Lucy's guardian in the near future, Zack wanted to make sure that he would have a good enough job to support himself while he was taking care of her. Even Miss Tutweiller noticed the change in Zack's attitude towards school and at the end of the day, she asked him about it. "Zack," she said evenly, "not that it matters, but you used to goof off all the time in my classes; and now look at you. You're actually working harder than I've ever seen you work before. What changed?"

But when Zack opened his mouth to answer, the words to describe how he was feeling inside were hard to find. But, after a while, all he said was, "I have someone on this ship who desperately needs me, and I'm not going to let her down. I'm working as hard as I can so that when the time comes, I can provide for her without having to worry about finances."

Miss Tutweiller gazed open mouthed at the eldest twin's statement. Marion Moseby had told her of this mysterious passenger several weeks before, but she hadn't known that Zack was her primary caretaker. Now that she knew this for sure, Emma Tutweiller suddenly understood what Zack had just told her. Becoming this child's guardian was not something he had chosen for himself, but it had been asked of him from someone else; someone who had been on the ship a little more than a year ago. After a while, Miss Tutweiller said in a very surprised voice, "Zack when you say that someone on this ship needs you, do you mean a small toddler whom you had rescued a little over a month ago?"

"How did you know that?" Zack asked in shock.

The young teacher hesitated, but answered, "because, I think I know who she is. I also think I know and understand why this child's mother asked you to take care of her. Do you remember a young lady named Violet?"

Zack's face lit up in recognition. "Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?" But as soon as he had asked the question, Zack had a sudden rush of memories come flooding back to him. He was only 14 or 15 at the time, but he remembered it like it was yesterday.

Zack remembered a stupid contest that his brother Cody had judged between London and Bailey's pets. It was the stupidest contest he had ever heard of, but funny all the same. Anyway, Zack had been working at the smoothie bar and collecting the empty cups from previous customers. Someone else was there watching him. She was young and beautiful; somewhere in her late teens or early 20s, but he couldn't be sure. She told him that her name was Violet and that she was engaged to a jerk of a person named Ashton.

Although Zack was much younger than her, Violet was always nice to him and they had become very good friends. There was even one time where she had come to talk to him in the middle of the night because something was deeply troubling her. But, at the time, Zack had no idea of just how much she was hiding from her fiancé. But at the same time, he could understand why she wanted to hide from him. From what Zack had gathered, Ashton was a complete jerk who would do anything to hurt anyone who got in his way. And that, unfortunately, included very small children who couldn't even defend themselves against him. "Zack," Violet said frantically, "when the time comes, I want you to raise my daughter; take care of her and love her as your own. I don't know how much more of this I can take, and it's only a matter of time before Ashton, her stepfather, finds out about her. When the time comes, I want you to keep her safe; keep her away from him."

"I'll do my best," he remembered himself saying. "I make no promises, but I'll do what I can." Zack also remembered when his friend had placed her newborn daughter into his arms. He remembered the newborn looking up at him curiously, and as if by instinct, she had clutched onto his sweatshirt and for reasons unknown, could not let go. Zack was unaware that the child had cerebral palsy back then, but something about her muscle tone was much different than the children he had watched over at the hotel's daycare many years ago. He was also unaware that his life was going to totally change; and change for the better. He also remembered the sense of sadness he felt when he handed the baby back to Violet. Zack did not like what it meant. When Zack came out of his memories, the young teacher looked very concerned when she saw tears streaming down his cheeks at a rapid pace. She didn't say anything though because she wasn't really sure what to say. Also, the teenager was trying to speak, but having a difficult time of it. Finally, he said, "Violet... I never realized... but now I understand; Cody and I found a note, and I think it was her handwriting." Then without looking at his teacher, Zack ran out of the classroom; tears still streaming down his cheeks as he remembered everything.

Several people tried to talk to him, but Zack just couldn't do it now. All he wanted to do right now was to get to the ship's daycare and pick up Lucy. He wanted to sort out his confusing memories and grieve for his friend. It didn't make it any easier; knowing that Lucy was his friend's daughter, but she had asked this of him, and because she had been so nice to him, Zack figured that taking care of her daughter was the least he could do for her.


	6. London's Disaster

I am back with another chapter of expect the unexpected. Thank you everyone for your kind reviews. Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from the suite life on deck; they belong to the Disney channel.

Chapter 6:

London's Disaster

It had been a few days since the oldest Martin twin had found out the identity of Lucy's mother. He was understandably sad and upset as Violet had been so nice to him when she had been on the ship just over a year ago. The teenager found himself talking with the ship's manager a lot about this. Cranky though he may seem, Mr. Moseby turned out to be a pretty good listener when people took the time to get to know him. His only problem was that he was stressed out with many things, which made it difficult for him to be who he wanted to be at times. Not only that, Zack was spending most of his time trying to catch up on school work with Cody while working at the juice bar most days after school. Add onto that; trying to care for a toddler who could sense his emotions, but was unable to speak, which made her frustrated and whiny.

But, it didn't mean that he was ever alone. For what ever reason, London was being unusually quiet in class. Although she was a rich heiress of the Tipton family line, she sometimes wished that she wasn't. She absolutely hated school and her snobbish ways. But the reason she hated school was completely unrelated to the fact that she was a rich heiress. No; London Tipton found school extremely difficult and it wasn't because she was stupid. No; she was very smart. It's just that she found reading extremely difficult and her dad never even realized it. So whenever she asked questions that Cody, Zack, Bailey, and the others thought of as silly, they really weren't. She asked those questions because she truly did not understand what was going on sometimes and it wasn't her fault that the words and numbers got mixed up on the pages she read for homework. Or tried to at least. "I know I've been awful," she thought to herself, "but maybe Zack can help me. He has never judged me, even when I acted so snobby." So, after school one day, that was exactly what the Tipton heiress did. She went to one of her favorite spots on the sky deck and ordered a smoothie for herself. Just as she was about to walk away, Zack caught sight of his friend's face, which had regret and sorrow written all over it.

Since he did not have the two-year-old with him at the present time, and the sky deck was relatively quiet, Zack came out from behind the counter and gently raised the heiress's chin so that she was staring directly into his eyes, which were filled with compassion. "Hey, you okay?" He asked gently. "You don't seem your usual self today."

"You mean snobbish and rude?" London asked; sniffling a little. "That's not me; I hate acting that way, and I hate being rich."

Whatever Zack expected to hear, it wasn't that. He had known London for a very long time, ever since they were kids. Or he thought he had. For a long time, Zack thought that London was goofy, irresponsible, and didn't care if she was hurting other's feelings. But what Zack hadn't realized was that she was probably under a lot of pressure and stress from her dad and she was struggling to balance out her place in the world with the desire to have real friends. People who saw the real London Tipton; not the snobby, spoiled, rich London, not the famous heiress. These thoughts must have shown on London's face, because she suddenly could feel and see Zack's fingers and thumb gently wiping away some of the tears that had suddenly fallen in her frustration and sadness. "Hey," he said gently, "don't cry. I'm sorry; I didn't mean to make you upset." And then it suddenly clicked. "London, does this have something to do with what Tutweiller was teaching in school today?"

"Some of it, yes," she replied sadly. And for the first time in her life, London Tipton spilled her guts to the one and only person who, in his own strange ways, completely understood her for who she truly was on the inside.

Just to clear a few things up, let's go back to earlier in the day when Emma Tutweiller was teaching everyone and why it may have made London so sad and upset.

The young high school teacher decided to teach something very different this particular semester. After Zack had told her that he was caring for someone with very unique circumstances, she had decided to teach her class about the many ways that the human brain is able to function, while in special circumstances, it might not be able to function normally. Zack knew why she was doing it of course; he had asked her to help the rest of the students to be more aware of the toddler and her needs. Not that any of his friends would intentionally harm her, but the eldest twin felt extremely responsible for her and didn't want anything to happen to her. Miss Tutweiller assured him that she would do her best and she even told him that she was proud of him for all the hard work he was putting in this year.

Anyway, back to the lesson. The young teacher broke everyone up into pairs and explained that what they were going to do this semester was a little different, but it seemed necessary. "The object of this project," the teacher explained, "is that one of you will represent someone with a chronic illness or disability and your partner will act as your aide or caretaker." And ironically, London had been paired with Zack. No one knew however that she had run out of the classroom crying because she started to realize that her difficulties in school were due to a disability; a real one. And because of her misunderstandings, she thought that the project was so that the adults and everyone else could make fun of her. The young high school teacher stared after London in shock and thought, "what is it with people running out of my classroom today? First Zack does it, now London? Something must be in the air."

Zack looked thoughtful as he answered her question. "I don't know, but she'll come around. It's probably just a huge misunderstanding on her part."

And when London finished her story, she was crying so hard that she couldn't see. "Did you ever wonder why I was having such difficulties with my letters as a child or why I got and still get confused? I have a few learning disabilities; I know I do. But, Daddy doesn't understand or care. All he cares about are his many wives he's had and being rich. He doesn't care about me; he never has. Not the way I want him to anyway. I want to do well in school, but it's difficult when I don't even understand what I read. It's hard for me to keep things like that in my head; it's like something is misfiring in my brain or something. I try to understand, but I get so frustrated that I just quit after a while because I'm tired."

Zack gave his friend a small hug and said gently, "have you told anyone about the problems you're having? Maybe this is something we can incorporate into our project. And just so you don't misunderstand, the project wasn't to make fun of you. It was to help the other passengers and students to be more aware of and accepting of those who may be different from others," Zack said gently. "I truly apologize if it hurt you; it wasn't meant to hurt anyone. You know what?" He asked suddenly.

"What?" The heiress asked somewhat suspiciously.

"I'm glad you told me this, because I had no idea that we were actually hurting you. And yes, I have noticed that it's harder for you to read sometimes but I don't think the problem is that you can't read. It's as you said. You have a harder time understanding or comprehending what you read with your eyes, not because you can't see, but because I have noticed that sometimes when you write notes and stuff words are often misspelled. Do you sometimes find that some of the letters and numbers float around on you when you try to read?" When the heiress nodded her head, her friend continued, "I think I know what's going on and quite frankly, I'm surprised that none of the teachers caught it. On another note, I have to go and pick up Lucy from the ship's daycare pretty soon. Would you like to come with me?"

London looked very confused so she asked, "Lucy? Is she your daughter or something?"

Zack chuckled and answered, "no no, she's the toddler I found a few months ago and I'm taking care of her. Do you remember Violet? Well, she was on the ship over a year ago, and Lucy is her daughter." So after finishing with his shift, Zack and London made their way to the daycare where he was immediately tackled to the ground by one of the smaller kids who recognized him. They were giggling like crazy as the teenager tried to dislodge him, but like a persistent bear cub, the little boy clung on to Zack's pants leg as he tried to crawl up to his chest. "Okay kiddo," Zack said with a slight laugh, "you have to let me up now because I need to get Lucy, okay?" Reluctantly, the little boy obeyed, but he did ask for a hug, which Zack gladly gave to him.

After a while, one of the teachers came over. "Hello, Mr. Martin; I assume that you're here to pick up your charge?"

Zack smiled. "Yes I am. How was she today?"

The teacher frowned and the teenager knew that something was worrying her. "Ma'am, is something wrong?" He asked quietly.

The daycare teacher scrutinized the teenager before she said in a worried voice, "you'd better come with me. I think it would be better if you saw for yourself."

Very worried now, Zack followed the teacher deeper into the daycare center with London tagging along. After a while, the small group of people found the toddler lying in one of the cribs; sound asleep. But that's not what bothered Zack. What bothered him was that it seemed as though she had been that way for hours; not even moving. She also looked very flushed as though she had a fever. Very gently, the teenager lifted the toddler into his arms and tried to rouse her with no luck. She shivered against him and rested her hot little head against his shoulder. "Come on little one," he coaxed gently, "you need to wake up."

And although she didn't or couldn't wake up, the toddler managed to almost completely gross the teenager out. "Can I help?" London asked in a somewhat timid voice.

Zack grimaced as he answered, "sure, if you want to change one of her nasty diapers," he said somewhat sarcastically. "Be my guest. You have to put these gloves on though first," Zack warned. "I don't want you to get sick." And without even being aware of it, the two-year-old had been changed and she was still fast asleep. But her fever was what was worrying Zack the most. He had never seen her sleep so soundly before, which wasn't a problem, but the state of her health was a problem. "You really do need help little one," he whispered to her as he was just holding her. "I just wish I knew who to go to so that I can help you; I hate seeing you so miserable." But the little girl's illness was not all that the teenager was worried about. He was worried that the toddler would never develop speech because she was a little over two years old and she still wasn't speaking. The thing was that he had no idea how badly damaged her brain had become after being thrown around and almost drowned and Zack was almost afraid to find out the horrifying truth. Would she always be like this? For a while, the teenager was terrified, but he always remembered what Marcus had told him. He was, in many ways, very much a father and a mother to this child, and nothing could change it. Nothing would ever change it because Zack loved her so much.


	7. Dreams, Projects, and High School

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from the Suite Life on Deck; they belong to the Disney channel.

Chapter 7:

Dreams, Projects, and High School

The small toddler was miserable. It was early evening; sometime after school had let out for the day, and the oldest twin was watching over her diligently. Zack had no idea what to do for her at this point. He had no medicine; or, shall I say, no medicine that was appropriate for a disabled two-year-old that is. Young though he was, Zack did not stray from his responsibility of taking care of this child. Yes, he had a lot of homework to do, and yes, the project he had suggested to Miss Tutweiller just over two weeks ago was going to be difficult, but worth it. It would be especially difficult for Zack because not only was he taking care of a disabled child in real life; he was going to pretend to be a special ed aide for London as well.

He knew about her dyslexia of course, but that's not why it was going to be difficult for him. For the project, London was going to have to pretend to not have any speech and she was going to be in a wheelchair. Miss Tutweiller had assured everyone that it was only going to be during the school day, so they wouldn't have to worry too much. Zack thought he had it hard, but as it turned out, Cody was paired up with Bailey, which was awkward as the two of them had broken up several months ago. But the hard part was that Cody was also a caretaker for Bailey because she had to pretend that she was half blind even though she really wasn't.

Anyway, getting back to the task at hand, Zack was trying to do his homework while he cuddled the sick two-year-old to his chest; keeping one arm across her chest so that she wouldn't fall off of his lap. Lucy was understandably whiny and fretful. She had woken up briefly while Zack fed her, but she was just too tired to stay awake for very long. Zack was especially worried because he had school the next morning and the project was going to start that very day. However, he knew that he could not leave her at the daycare for fear of the other children catching her illness. Instead, he asked Mr. Moseby to stay with the toddler in the sick bay while Zack went to school. When the teenager had explained why, the ship's manager agreed and told him that he was growing up before his very eyes.

"You really think so?" Zack asked; fear and worry colored his voice and clouded his face.

Mr. Moseby gave the teenager a kind smile. "Yes, Zack, I do," he said gently. "The turnaround you have made this year has proved that, and I couldn't be prouder of you!" And just as the teenager had turned to walk out of the dining area to get to school, the middle-aged man called after him, "Zack, I know that the child's illness is hard on you and I will have the ship's doctor looking after her while you are at school."

"You will keep me posted?" Zack asked. And Mr. Moseby promised that he would, all the while gently shooing the teenager off to school.

When he got there, Zack was completely shocked, but pleasantly surprised at how Miss Tutweiller had arranged her classroom. The spaces were much wider as some of the people were going to be in wheelchairs for the entire school day; including London, whom Zack was paired with. Strange though it was, all of the students looked semi natural in their roles as special ed aides and students. Addison was an aide for Woody, who had to pretend he had a form of autism called Asperger's syndrome, Marcus had to pretend he was deaf, and since the class was a little uneven, he was the only one left without a student aide, so he was with Miss Tutweiller. Bailey of course, was a pretty convincing half blind person, as Cody did his best to help her navigate through the somewhat crowded classroom, all the while explaining to her what was going on, and even helping read to her what the young high school teacher was showing on the overhead. He was even taking notes for her, as she was pretending to be half blind; it was rather difficult for her to do this herself.

London and Zack, however, were the most interesting of them all. Since it was her first time being in a wheelchair, London had a tendency to bump into things. Whether it was due to the bulkiness of the wheelchair, or the fact that a communication device had been hooked to it, London never knew. As she wasn't really allowed to speak for the time being, she found it rather frustrating at first. However, as Zack was pretty used to helping others by now, he did the best he could while helping her navigate with her wheelchair without bumping into things or people. He also had to help her take notes, as the computer was used for communication purposes only. A couple of times, Woody pretended to have a meltdown, so Addison had to take him out into the hallway in order to calm him down, but it wasn't too bad. It was a very interesting first day to say the least, and Zack and Cody were exhausted by the time school had let out. For that matter, Bailey seemed exhausted as well. It was very difficult work for her to pretend to be half blind, and she found that she had a slight headache at the end of the day.

As for Zack, he was exhausted, but happy. He had no idea that this project was going to be received so well. Sure, everyone was nervous at first, but that was to be expected on the first day. And when London was allowed to stand up at the end of the day, she actually wobbled a bit and Zack had to keep her from falling. "It's a strange feeling isn't it?" He asked her as the two of them were walking back from the classroom. And later, after school, Zack was in the sick bay sitting beside the ailing toddler. She gurgled and moaned in her sleep, but no actual speech was heard. The child was so scared and helpless, and Zack absolutely hated that! He hated that she would never remember her mother and he hated seeing her so miserable. When the doctor had come in to check on the toddler, Zack had asked him how she was. "Is she any better?" When will she be allowed to come back to my cabin?"

The ship's doctor smiled gently at the teenager and answered, "her fever's gone down a bit, but she's still under the weather and needs a little more observation."

Zack was understandably worried and asked, "observation? What do you mean?"

The doctor smiled gently and tried to be reassuring as he said gently, "I want to make sure that she isn't allergic to anything she might have eaten while she was at the daycare yesterday," he explained. "Don't worry; I will let you know if anything changes. This little one is very lucky, you know."

"Why is that?"

"She is lucky, because, you, young man, have saved her life in more ways than one. If it hadn't been for you, she would have been dead a long time ago." After that, Zack could not stop thinking about what the ship's doctor had told him earlier that day. He was even getting distracted while he was helping London with her homework that evening. Although she was no longer confined to her wheelchair and able to speak again, her dyslexia would be with her forever; frustrating her to no end.


	8. Projects and Computers

Author's note: all right everyone; I just re-watched the episode of computer date and I am going to try and write it how it would be different if the automated system recognized Lucy and Zack instead of Cody. Don't worry; their school project is still in effect, so it will be pretty interesting to say the least. Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from the suite life on deck; it belongs to the Disney channel.

Chapter 8:

Projects and Computers

As I said before, while Zack was helping London with her school work after school, he kept thinking about the little girl in the sick bay below him. He had only known her for a little over two months, but he loved her as if she was his own daughter. If Zack knew where Ashton was, he would attack him with all the strength he had. No one, absolutely no one hurts his surrogate daughter and gets away with it. Zack wished he knew why Lucy wasn't speaking yet and he also wished he had known why Ashton had done those things to her. Because, he knew without a doubt, that it was Ashton who had made Lucy the way she was; almost completely blind from the effects of his shaking her and throwing her around. And now, because of him, Lucy had no mother and severe PTSD, which she would have for the rest of her life. Zack's thoughts must have shown on his face, because London's voice made him look up with a startled expression.

"Zack?"

"I'm sorry London," the older twin said distractedly, "I just have a lot on my mind is all."

"You know, Zack," London said seriously, which was so unlike her, "I know you care about Lucy; I see it in your eyes, especially when you hold her. But I can also see that you are often worried, and I can understand that. But Zack, don't forget that you are not alone with her. We are all here for you and we are more than willing to help you. All you have to do is ask."

Zack was stunned for a moment. He wasn't used to London's changed attitude just yet, but it was refreshing from the way she used to act. "Thanks," he said finally. He was silent for a while, but deciding that he was going to bite the bullet, Zack asked the question that had been bugging him ever since London had practically cried on his shoulder about how much pressure she was under being a Tipton. "London, have you ever told anyone on the ship that you're having problems reading? Does Miss Tutweiller know about your dyslexia? Because if you told her, I'm sure she would understand and try to help you." And then he added teasingly, "if you don't, I will."

London laughed a little, but she answered, "I want to, but I'm a little scared to tell her. It's not like I exactly paid attention to her before anyway."

Zack smiled, but told her somewhat firmly, "London, you need to tell her. If you don't, it's going to get harder for you. I'll help you talk to her if you want, but since I don't have dyslexia, I can't even begin to understand how it affects you. So, you are the one who needs to tell her, and you need to tell her before you aren't allowed to speak again. Come on, I think Miss Tutweiller is still in her office. If not, we are going to go find her."

Meanwhile, the ship was in the process of becoming fully automated, which meant that a huge computer was going to control everything, including the juice machines at the juice bar. Zack and Cody's old friend Arwen was in the process of hooking it up. Cody had helped him of course because he was a whiz with computers, but he could not stay long, as he had a ton of homework to do including the outline for his personal essay on the disabilities project. As it turned out, the computer voice happened to be female, so Arwen had to change her name from Cal to Callie. Little did he know however that extremely strange things would soon be happening?

It was early evening again and Zack was told that Lucy's fever had broken and that she had no food allergies whatsoever. Her sudden and violent illness was just that; sudden. The ship's doctor had explained to Zack that sometimes small children would spike fevers for no reason whatsoever and it was to help them to build up their immune system to be better at fighting off strong diseases. "The reason Lucy had been so sick in the first place," Dr. Vernon Cutler explained, "is because of the many permanent disabilities she has. I'm afraid that as she gets older, Lucy's immune system will not be as developed as yours or mine because of how much energy it takes her to do many things. I know it's not what you wanted to hear, but I do know one thing. I know that you love her with all your heart, so keep doing that." Zack was understandably saddened by this news, but he loved her anyway.

Zack hadn't realized this until now, but when he was actually able to hold the small child in his arms again, he felt like a piece of him had come back and filled an emptiness that he never realized was there. In fact, he felt whole again. He was glad that the baby, or shall I say toddler was feeling better, but he still worried about her as far as her speech was concerned. He had no way of knowing whether or not her speech delay was due to her cerebral palsy or if it was caused by the traumatic experiences of Ashton's violent temper when he was on the ship that night. Until he knew more, until this project was done, Zack was not going to let the toddler see anyone other than the ship's doctor. It's not that he didn't trust anyone; he did. It was that they were in a completely different part of the world, and Zack did not want anyone from these particular countries to take his little girl away from him. Yes, Zack thought of Violet's daughter as his own little girl; he thought of her that way the first time he had held her as a newborn, when Violet was still alive.

Anyway, he was just carrying her past the main computer room to see if Arwen was still around, but to his shock, the computer spoke to him. "Greetings, Zack. And Lucy, you must be feeling better."

Zack jumped about a foot in the air, especially when Callie spoke directly to the toddler. "I don't mean to be rude, but how do you know my name? And how did you know that Lucy was sick?"

"Arwen programmed me to recognize everyone," Callie replied. "And that also includes your charge."

The sound of the automated female voice was very different for Lucy, so she was understandably a little frightened and clung to Zack's T-shirt in alarm. She put her dark head on the teenager's shoulder and tried to curl into a ball but couldn't. "Lucy, it's okay honey; it's all right," he told her soothingly. "Not used to that; hey?" And when Zack found that the child was soaking wet, he quickly excused himself in order to change her. The small toddler was still a little frightened, but despite the fact that she had no mother, she took on the soothing tone of Zack's voice as he reassured her over and over again that the voice wasn't human and it couldn't hurt her. But, she was still fretful, and understandably so.

The next days were very interesting to say the least. Not only did Calley imprint herself on Zack, she created a mobile unit for herself in order to follow him around. Being only a computer, Callie did not fully understand the intentions of the school project and got extremely jealous because London was hanging out with Zack way too much, and she even told London to move out of her way. But being that it was the middle of the school day, London was not allowed to speak or walk, so there was nothing she could do. Zack seemed to understand this though, because he said, "Callie, right now, she can't."

"Why not?" She asked flatly.

"Because this is her project. For right now, she cannot speak or walk. Understand?"

But then after that, everyone knew that something was completely different about the automated ship. It no longer took commands as it used to. Instead, it had seemed to come alive and had a mind of its own. Everyone was frightened of her, but none more so than the small toddler. Whenever Zack was not taking care of her, Callie would try to do the same, but something about the automated voice really frightened the child and there was nothing that anyone could do. The robot's arms didn't feel as safe as Zack's did; probably because the toddler had grown used to being without a mother, so it didn't feel right to not have Zack, one of his friends, or the daycare staff with her. The child often felt crushed because Callie's metal arms were hard and cold and very big. But it wasn't until she had tried to keep the child for herself that Zack asked his brother to shut her down. This was actually very frightening for Zack as well, because he hadn't realized that his little girl was caught in the robot's arms; screaming in terror and probably reliving some of the worst moments of her life. He noticed that something had definitely gone wrong when Callie tried to throw the toddler in the pool. When he saw that, Zack's heart flew into his throat as he screamed, "no, Callie, no! Not my little girl!" And although Zack was technically not a parent, his strength and courage made him do the unthinkable, especially for her. So, he thought long and hard about what Cody would do in this situation. And without really thinking about it, the older twin, by chance, found the control panel in Callie's circuitry and successfully shut her down before she could do any real damage to the small child.

By the time Lucy was safely in Zack's warm arms, she was positively screaming, and he didn't blame her one bit. He saw the fear and terror in his little girl's eyes and there was absolutely nothing he could do to make it all go away. All he could really do was hold her and rock her. After that, he was going to tell Mr. Moseby why having an automated ship was so dangerous, especially with a small toddler around. It took him a while to get the child calmed down, but Zack finally managed to get her to go to sleep. And while she was sleeping, the teenager went to talk to the adults about what had happened. They agreed with his reasoning and they gladly helped him to Pak Callie up where she could be taken somewhere else; hopefully to be fixed. In the meantime, London was happy. She was happy that that crazy computer was gone, but more importantly, she was happy because her friend's surrogate daughter had not suffered a second head injury, thanks to Zack's short burst of fear, anger, and determination.


	9. Tutweiller's Secret

Again, I apologize for the long wait. I caught a bit of a cold so it might take me a while to get this done. As always, I do not own any of the characters from the suite life on deck.

Chapter 9:

Tutweiller's Secret

It was a very interesting semester for everyone aboard theS.S. Tipton. Everyone's projects were going smoothly, especially now that the crazy computer, Callie had been shipped off somewhere to be repaired and hopefully she would never return. London had talked to Miss Tutweiller about her learning disabilities. She was nervous of course, but Zack told her to be honest and that she would be fine. So, London finally explained to the young high school teacher the problems she was having, especially with reading and math. "I want to do the work," she explained, "but sometimes I get too frustrated, especially with the reading. I sometimes just don't understand it and sometimes I'm afraid to ask for help because I don't want to be laughed at."

Emma Tutweiller looked somewhat surprised at what the Tipton heiress was telling her, but at the same time, she could somewhat understand what she was saying. She had also noticed that although London hadn't always turned in her homework, it was more because she was tired and frustrated with the material and not because she didn't want to do it. "I can sort of understand what you're saying, London," the young high school teacher told her surprisingly gently. "All though it is not an excuse for not doing your homework, there were times that I could see when you were truly struggling to read or understand something. It is kind of my fault for not catching it sooner. I should have asked you if you needed any extra help, but I just didn't know if you were willing to receive it."

"I am willing," London replied quietly. "Since this project has started, Zack has been helping me after school. And, I'm sorry for not paying attention to you before; it's just that I was feeling overworked and under a lot of pressure from Daddy to be the heiress of the family and I really hate it."

Miss Tutweiller suddenly looked at London and saw nothing but genuine sorrow and sadness on her face. "Poor girl," the young teacher thought to herself; "no wonder she was acting out. She doesn't feel like she can be herself." Out loud, she said gently, "London, if you were feeling overworked or stressed because of your father, why didn't you tell anyone about how much pressure you were under? You know that you can always come to me or the counselor if you need help. Do you know that? In the meantime, I'm glad that Zack is willing to help you. He's really changed, hasn't he?" And then the young high school teacher smiled.

London smiled back. "Yeah he has," she agreed. "In fact, he was the first person I told when I knew I couldn't take it anymore. I didn't mean to, it just sort of slipped out, and I was feeling fragile and vulnerable but he didn't care; I think Zack has known I had been stressed out for a while now." And then without really knowing why she was doing it, London found herself blushing like crazy every time that Zack was mentioned.

But Miss Tutweiller caught the teenager's expression and smiled knowingly. She didn't say anything though, which was a relief, because London was suddenly finding it difficult to sort out her confusing, but welcome feelings. "Is this why I had allowed myself to become so vulnerable around him?" She thought to herself. "Have I always had a small crush on Zack Martin and not know it?"

Meanwhile, as teacher and student were talking, Bailey and Cody were in the process of doing their personal essays. They were also relieved to find that that crazy computer was gone. But since they had computers of their own, they were wary of them with good reason. They did not want another incident like the one a few days ago to happen again, but thankfully none of their computers had speech, so they didn't have to worry too much. Who they did worry about however, was the small toddler. After that incident with Callie trying to throw her in the water, Lucy had not been the same child she had been a month ago. Yes, she had trauma, but she was always eager to play with his and Zack's blond hair; gently tugging on it in playfulness. But lately, she was not in the mood to be playful; in fact, she couldn't stand being separated from Zack, and screamed and cried whenever she was. The daycare staff were beside themselves with worry as she had never been like this before, but for a while, they put it down to simple separation anxiety; not fully understanding that the automated system, when it had come alive, had completely and utterly traumatized her to the point that she had lost all sense of well-being and security, and she only found solace with the young teenager who had so willingly taken her in as his own.

Anyway, Cody was worried about this as well because the young child had slowly begun to trust him as well as his older brother, but now he wasn't sure if Lucy would feel the same after that incident. As he did his essay, Cody couldn't help but think about the child and worry about her. Although it was Zack who took care of her most of the time, it was not uncommon for Cody to step in when he was needed. "Bailey," Cody said to his close friend," I know I shouldn't worry, but I'm going to anyway."

Bailey, who was doing her own essay, looked up and saw her ex-boyfriend's face looking troubled and a little scared. "Cody, what's wrong?" She asked, concerned. "What are you worried about? If it's about the essay..."

"It's not about the essay," he interrupted. "Although, I wish it was."

"What is it?" Bailey asked, concern coloring her voice and showing in her eyes. And then it finally clicked. "It's Lucy; isn't it?" Ex-girlfriend or not, Bailey knew and understood how both of the twins felt about the child and she herself felt the same toward her. So, she went over to give her friend a hug and said gently, "Cody, I know it's difficult, but please don't worry. For once, your brother has everything under control. I can tell he really loves her and doesn't want anything to happen to her, and that includes now. I know that Callie scared her big time, but she will calm down when she feels ready. Trust me, I come from a big family, and I know how frightened my younger siblings get during thunderstorms and things like that. Although, none of them have had to deal with rigged robots, so I guess that's a little different." And then without warning, Bailey burst out laughing because the image of the rest of her family having to deal with an alive automated computer system was extremely funny to her.

She only stopped laughing when Cody gently smacked the back of her head and said, "hey, we better finish these essays, or try to at least."

In the meantime, the young schoolteacher was alone in her office; London had left a while ago to get something from the juice bar and help with her homework. Emma Tutweiller was left alone to think about all that had happened in the last couple of years she had been on the ship. Most of her memories were very pleasant, but some were not so pleasant. One such memory kept on teasing at the back of her mind until she fully immersed herself in its depths.

Emma was sound asleep when she suddenly heard shouting and running feet in the main hallway outside of her cabin. But that's not what had awakened her. What had fully awakened her was the sound of extremely angry and fearful voices coming from the cabin next door to her. The fearful voice sounded like a young woman while the angry ones sounded like a young man. The young schoolteacher didn't know what to do. These were not her students; these were regular passengers, but still she felt concerned. The young woman sounded fearful; not for herself, but for someone else. Emma Tutweiller was confused at whom this other person could be, but that question was answered for her when the sound of a newborn's cry filled her ears, and she suddenly understood. "It can't be!" She cried in her head. "The child that Zack's taking care of right now, it's the same child that was born on this ship a little over two years ago! But why has she come back?" And as the young high school teacher thought back on that moment, it suddenly dawned on her what really happened. Once she thought about it, tears suddenly filled her eyes and she began to weep bitterly. She wept because she had been the one to rescue the child from the ocean, but she had no idea that she had been tied up. She had no idea why the child had been thrown overboard in the first place, but she knew that she had a long and hard life ahead of her.

Why is Miss Tutweiller crying? Does she know something about Lucy that no one else knows? Review or send me a private message with your guess.


	10. A Puzzling Truth

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from the suite life on deck.

Chapter 10:

A Puzzling Truth

Ever since the project had started, the young high school teacher became more and more depressed. Don't get her wrong; she loved her job. The reason for her depression was, or shall I say, more because of what she had seen the night the toddler was rescued by the Martin twins. She saw everything that night, and yet, she didn't have the guts to do anything about it. Emma Tutweiller agreed to this project because she thought it would help her own mood, but in reality, it made it harder for her. But, for the sake of the class, she tried her best to keep herself from having a total breakdown in front of her students. But, one day after school, this was not the case.

The young high school teacher was curious about the toddler that Zack had taken in and asked if she could see Lucy for herself. She had explained to him that she was just curious, and wanted to understand why the toddler had such an effect on him. Zack, although a little cautious, was very gracious, and allowed her to see Lucy. Since it was after school, everyone was virtually off duty as teachers and chaperones, so they felt they could mingle amongst their young charges a little more freely. "Of course you may see her; but you will have to wait until I get off work from the juice bar, I'm afraid," Zack told the young high school teacher. "Besides, she just got over a nasty fever, so she's a little bit disoriented and sleepy at the moment."

However, it wasn't long before the teenager's shift had ended and he once again had the two-year-old with him. But remembering his promise, Zack went to the chaperones cabins to find his teacher. He was confused as to why she wanted to see Lucy so badly, but he figured that it didn't matter just as long as nothing would happen to her. "Zack," he scolded himself. "Stop it. Miss Tutweiller is not going to hurt the child; she only wants to see her." So after a few minutes of hesitation, Zack knocked on the cabin door. When the young high school teacher opened it, she was somewhat surprised, but she suddenly remembered what she had asked of her student earlier that day.

"Did you bring the child with you? May I see her?" Zack nodded his head and wordlessly handed Lucy to his teacher; watching nervously for any signs of discomfort from the little one. Yes, Zack had been taking care of her for so long that he knew the child's moods and understood them better than anyone else. But to his surprise, it was not the child who started to cry; it was his own teacher. As soon as her eyes landed on the little face, Emma Tutweiller's own eyes filled with tears and without warning, she threw herself on Zack's shoulder and sobbed openly.

Zack was surprised, but he hugged his teacher as best he could. Being that he was much younger than her and he was her student, it was a little awkward, but somehow he could feel her pain and sorrow. She kept telling him that she was sorry over and over again, but he was confused, so he asked gently, "what are you sorry for? This child's situation was not your fault; it was Ashton's. He did this to her; you didn't do anything. Besides, she was born with cerebral palsy anyway; you couldn't have done anything to prevent that."

"That's exactly my point," the young high school teacher cried. "You are correct that she was born with this, but you are also correct that I didn't do anything. And I should have. I should have done something when I heard the fighting, but I was scared. I am truly sorry I didn't help you out when I saw you and Cody on the sky deck the night you found her. I am truly sorry; all I could do was stand there and watch, but I was the one who rescued her from the water after your friend's fiancé threw her overboard. Please forgive me; I had no idea she had been tied up first." And then she began to cry even harder.

Zack was at a loss for words. He had no idea that his teacher was feeling this way and he also had no idea that she had been watching him and Cody when they were trying to untie her and make sure that she was all right. He had thought that they had been alone, but Miss Tutweiller had just confirmed that they hadn't been. After a while, Zack said gently, "I repeat, it was not your fault. You may have rescued her from the water, but I was meant to find her. Violet asked me a long time ago to be Lucy's guardian if anything were to happen to her, so please don't beat yourself up over this. Even if you hadn't watched us, or heard the fighting, I would have taken her in regardless." And then he asked, "is it the project? Is something about it bothering you?"

The young high school teacher smiled sadly and answered, "maybe at first," she admitted. "But, I have to admit, it was a good suggestion on your part. I guess, all it really did was bring back a lot of memories that were unwanted, but it's okay now." And then after a little while, Lucy started squirming uncomfortably and looking at Zack with her thumb in her mouth. "Well, it looks like this little one wants some food. Speaking of which, you'd better get some yourself," the young teacher scolded lightly as she handed the toddler back to the teenager.

But Zack was extremely preoccupied as he took care of the child. Even Marcus noticed his friend's distant looks and asked him what was going on. But Zack just shrugged his shoulders as if to say that he didn't know and that he needed to sort things out in his head. So, in order to change the subject, Zack asked Marcus if he was having fun being deaf during the day. And then both teenagers burst out laughing when Marcus asked innocently, "what was that? I couldn't hear you."

And as if she could feel the positive energy in the room, the small toddler began to laugh; making Zack and Marcus smile down at her. "Did you think that was funny, Lucy?" Zack asked goofily as he fed her disgusting looking baby food to her. And to his surprise, the disabled toddler looked up in the direction where she thought her surrogate father's face was and stammered out one word. "Dada? Dada?"

Zack's heart positively melted when he heard the little child's voice. He thought that she would never be able to speak because of what Ashton had done to her, but apparently he was mistaken. Although he was not the little girl's father, Zack did not have the heart to tell her so. There would be a time where he would tell her the truth, but this was not it. He would tell her when she was old enough to understand and ask questions of her own. He would tell her of the reason for her mother's death then as well, but for now, he wanted to relish in the fact that his little girl thought of him as her father despite how young he was. So, instead, he just hugged her and told her how much he loved her.


	11. Lucy Sees her Mom

Hello people; this next chapter is in honor of all souls day, which is tomorrow. So I thought I'd do something a little different. I hope you all enjoy it. Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of the suite life on deck.

Chapter 11:

Lucy Sees her Mom

Because of the project taking up everyone's time, and they were actually having fun with it, time on the S.S. Tipton flew by rapidly. And before everyone knew it, it was almost Halloween. Lucy was still unable to talk much, but that was to be expected, especially since her near drowning had completely traumatized her. She was still unable to walk, which was extremely concerning, especially to Zack. He knew and heard of cerebral palsy of course, but he hadn't known that different people were affected by it in different ways. So, naturally, it scared him a little that although she was almost 2 1/2 years old, she was even still struggling with crawling; but that, was even easier than walking at this point. The ship's doctor had reassured him that Lucy was doing the best that she could despite everything she had to deal with. He told Zack not to worry; that she would develop more muscle control the more she used them and the longer he worked with her on helping her to use those muscles more effectively.

Zack was especially concerned because she was still unable to use the toilet due to her inability to walk and communicate what she needed, but again, the ship's doctor told him that this was okay and that her brain wasn't ready to do those things just yet. "If you force these things too much," he explained patiently, "she may have even more problems later on." And then he laughed and added, "Zack, for a teenager, you have become extremely grown up. I have never seen a teenager so concerned with anyone let alone themselves. But you? You are the total opposite. In fact, you act more like her father rather than a young teenager who doesn't know what he's doing."

Zack laughed and answered, "trust me; I don't know what I'm doing half the time. Sometimes, I feel like a chicken with its head cut off. Between the project, working at the juice bar, doing my homework, and taking care of Lucy, I don't know if I have enough energy left sometimes!"

"I know what you mean," the ship's doctor said gently, "but don't forget, that you do have people here who can help you. But, I can certainly understand why you feel responsible. You and your brother were the only people to find her when you did, so it's only natural to feel the way you do."

"I know that," the eldest twin told him. And then he suddenly remembered why he had come into the office in the first place. "Dr. Cutler, this might sound strange, but can I ask you a question?" Zack asked.

The ship's doctor leaned forward in order to better understand what the young teenager wanted to talk about. "Sure; what's up?"

"Could it be possible that Lucy's memories are returning? The reason I ask is because one night shortly after dinner, she was wet, so I was changing her. The entire time I was doing this, she was babbling nonstop, which was very normal. However, there was something extremely strange about it as well. The only clear word I could understand was, ' Mama'. As she kept saying that word, I saw her pointing to her right side where it seemed as though she could see. Lucy does not have a lot of vision due to her brain injury, but I know that she can see some things, and one of them happens to be movement. It seemed as though she was tracking or trying to track some form of movement that I myself wasn't even aware of because I was too engrossed in my task. Should I be worried about this?"

The ship's Doctor smiled. "Not at all!" He said happily. "The very fact that Lucy is starting to say that word, means that she is slowly starting to recognize her surroundings again, even though she is visually impaired. She may not fully understand that her mom is gone, but it is possible that she understands more than you think, and is now starting to realize that she misses her. I hope this helps."

In order to explain, I need to back up a little bit and show you what exactly was going on.

It was yesterday evening around six o'clock or so. Cody, Bailey, Marcus, and London were all hanging out on the sky deck and doing their homework. They were all excited about the Halloween party that would be happening that weekend. Zack had told his friends that he would meet them on the sky deck in a little bit, but he had to do something first. That something turned out to be changing an extremely wet and messy diaper on a certain two-year-old. Zack snorted when he saw the silly look on the toddler's face, but he was outright laughing when he realized how gross this particular job was. "Oh my goodness, what are we feeding you, kiddo? Never mind, don't answer that." "Yeah Zack, like she's able to anyway," he thought to himself.

As for Lucy, she was babbling nonstop just as she always did, but for some odd reason, she felt a little different somehow. Although she couldn't see that well, the small toddler became almost limp under her surrogate father's fingers, which meant that she was totally relaxed, which wasn't very often. Zack was either unaware of her state, or he was too engrossed in what he was doing, because he did not see anything at all. However, Lucy, with her very limited vision, tried in vain to track the movement she was seeing. But it wasn't just movement she was seeing. Over to her right side, there was a soft, golden light, which was neither too bright nor very dim. It was just constant, and somehow Lucy could see it. Although she could not see the woman that was surrounded by that light, she somehow instinctively knew who she was and called out the only word that made sense. "Mama?" She asked sadly. "Mama?"

It was to the sound of the toddler's sad voice that Zack looked down at the one whom he had so desperately loved. Although he hadn't seen it himself, Zack knew, without a doubt, that some of the child's memories were slowly returning to her; at least, that is what he hoped. And he also knew, that these particular tears were not tears of I'm hungry, or I'm wet, or anything like that. These tears meant that the toddler was desperately sad, but didn't understand why. "Okay baby girl; almost done," Zack said gently. And after he finished diapering her, he did nothing but hold her for a while. After that, he remembered his promise of meeting everyone else on the sky deck, so he took her up there with him. But for her safety and sanity, he made sure to steer clear of the pool so that she wouldn't get scared.

While he was up there, Zack told his friends and brother about what had happened after he finished talking with the ship's doctor. He also explained that it seemed as though Lucy was the only one who could see this particular light. "I was in the middle of changing her, and she suddenly went limp," Zack told Bailey. "I didn't realize it at first, but I thought she had gone into a seizure or something. She is prone to having them occasionally. But no; she was very relaxed and it was almost like she was asleep, but she wasn't. She kept calling for her mom, which was very odd, because Violet is no longer alive. Anyway, it seemed as though Lucy somehow realized this, because as soon as I had finished changing her, she had begun to cry; and it wasn't your average cry for food or anything like that. This kid was very sad; it broke my heart to see it."

"Well," Cody said slowly, "I'm more of a scientific person, but it is entirely possible that Lucy is more sensitive to the spiritual world because she is so young. And maybe because she is unable to see very well anyway, I think, that in her own way, she was somehow able to see her mom, and it is possible that some of her memories are returning, because she is not as anxious and frightened as she used to be. She seems to recognize some of her surroundings; if not by sight, then she recognizes them through her other senses somehow."

As it turned out, Violet, even though she was not alive anymore, was still able to travel around through time and space and it was through these means that she was able to see her daughter one last time. Although she was only a spirit now, she was immensely grateful that her younger friend had agreed to take care of her daughter. She also wanted to thank him for this, but since he could not see her, all she could do was linger on her daughter's face. "Goodbye, my little one," she whispered, "Zack loves you very much, and he will take care of you for me. I love you, baby girl, and I will see you on the other side when the time is right." And then she faded away; unknowingly causing her baby girl deep sadness and heartache that she could not understand. But being the gentle and caring surrogate father that he was, Zack did everything he could to alleviate that sadness.


	12. Trouble at School

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from the suite life on deck; they belong to the Disney channel.

Chapter 12:

Trouble at School

A few days after the incident with Lucy seeing her mother, Zack was back in school since it was a Monday. The project was still underway, so he still had to help London during the day. Everything was fine, or, he thought everything was fine. Since she wasn't allowed to speak, London had to rely on Zack to sort of translate what her computer synthesizer was saying for her, as not many people understood what it said half the time anyway. Even more frustrating for her was the fact that she wasn't allowed to walk until the end of the day, so she felt sort of confined. Zack's heart went out to London, especially in that particular moment. As a guardian or a surrogate parent to someone whom had suffered with this for all of her life, Zack was beginning to understand more and more just how frustrated Lucy must feel, especially at times when she was unable to speak and tell him what was wrong with her. "I know, London," Zack whispered quietly, "we are almost done."

What the class was doing, was something called art therapy, which meant that the student aides and their partners were in the process of making things out of either clay or pottery. Well, the people who were pretending to be disabled were making things, and their student aides were helping them as best they could. Woody and Addison were making some sort of basket along with some fake fruit to go with it. Cody and Bailey were making some sort of animal, but being as she was pretending to be half blind, Cody had to kind of tell her the description of what she was expected to make because it was harder for her to see what she was doing. Marcus pretty much worked on his own, with the exception of Miss Tutweiller giving him instructions in sign language, which was pretty entertaining since he didn't really understand the language to begin with. But, like many things, Marcus was slowly starting to get the hang of everything, including beginning to understand the language that was so foreign to him.

London and Zack tried and failed to make something, but it was pretty obvious that because of the fact that the heiress had a communication device hooked up to her wheelchair, and needed to use it in order to talk to her partner, it was pretty difficult for her as she was pretty much confined to using one hand for the most part. That didn't really bother her so much, but for whatever reason, London was not her usual silly self; in fact, she seemed almost sad. She was becoming more and more fidgety as the day went on, so Zack kept a close eye on her to make sure she was okay. But that wasn't the only reason he did this. He knew, somehow, that London, in her frustrated state, would probably have a meltdown pretty soon. And sure enough, shortly after lunch, it happened.

One minute London was just fine, and the next, she was full out screaming and beating her fists on her wheelchair's tray. Zack, somehow knowing what to do, raised his hand to get the young teacher's attention. He very calmly explained what was going on and asked her if it was okay if he took London out of the classroom for a while so that the other students could concentrate more easily. The young high school teacher nodded her head and held the door open for him as he gently guided the wheelchair bound student out into the hallway where thankfully, it was much quieter.

When the two students got out there, Zack was able to get a better look at his friend's face. He was surprised to see that a cascade of tears were flowing freely down her cheeks, but since she wasn't allowed to speak yet, she could do nothing but scream. "Hey, it's okay, calm down," Zack said gently, "it's okay. What's wrong? Does something hurt?"

"No," the automated voice answered from the communication device. And then the next words that came from the communication device completely surprised him. "It's Lucy; I'm sad that she doesn't have a mother anymore. I'm worried that she'll turn out just like me because of some of the same reasons. I have way too many mothers to even count, and I don't even know if any of them are my real mother. I don't want Lucy to end up like me because she doesn't have a mom." And then she stopped typing and looked up at Zack; tears once again streaming down her cheeks.

Not knowing what else to do, Zack bent down and hugged his friend as best he could. "London," he said gently, "you don't ever have to worry about that. Yes, Lucy is sad that she doesn't have her mom, but she's very young, and doesn't fully understand that her mom is gone." And then it suddenly hit him. "Is that another reason why you acted the way you did when you were younger? Did you really feel that you didn't have anyone to talk to or lean on? Because, I'm very sorry that that happened and I want you to know that you have friends." And as Zack stood in the hallway with his friend, it suddenly dawned on him that she cared for the toddler more than he even realized and that her own life had been nothing but difficult because her own parents were making it that way. After a while, Zack deemed his friend calm enough to go back into the classroom, but not before solemnly promising that they would go together when Zack went to pick up Lucy.

I know, it's a short chapter, but I wanted to show London's emotions while the project was still going on, so this is kind of a filler chapter. However, next chapter will be very interesting. I promise you!


	13. Daycare and Unpleasant Tests

That's right; I am back. That last chapter was so short that I thought I might as well give you another one to make up for it. Disclaimer: once again, I do not own any of these characters; they belong to the Disney channel.

Chapter 13:

Daycare and Unpleasant Tests

Although school let out around 3 PM, the ship's daycare did not close until five, so Zack was able to get his homework done. He had even started working on his personal essay about the project and he got more than a third of the way done with it before he remembered that he and London were supposed to do part of their personal essays together, so he went to her cabin to find her. He did not find her there, but Bailey smiled at him and told him that London was in the ship's computer lab working on some of her homework. "Thanks, Bailey," Zack said with a kind smile. "I'll try and find her. We're supposed to do parts of our personal essays together, so I thought I would look for her."

Bailey laughed. "No problem," she answered. And just as her friend was about to walk out the door, she called him back. "Hey, how's Lucy doing? I know she was pretty upset the other day."

Zack smiled at his friend and answered, "she's doing all right. I mean, she's sad, but she's still very young, and I really don't know how much of this she will truly understand. Violet was one of my good friends, and I will always miss her, but being that her daughter is so little, she may not understand or fully realize that her mother is no longer with us. That's actually what I worry about the most. The child was so traumatized when I found her that she couldn't even remember anything; not even her mom. But now? Now that she has some form of memory, I'm worried that it may destroy her."

When Bailey looked at her friend's face, she saw nothing but genuine compassion and love shining in his usually mischievous face. And if she wasn't mistaken, Bailey could also see a flicker of pain and sadness as well. So, she said as gently as she could, "Zack, I know how much you care about this child; I can see it in your eyes and in your actions. We all can tell how much you love her; that much is obvious. And I know you worry about her. But what you have to understand is that Lucy is just a little kid. Grieving, yes, but a little kid nonetheless. It is not going to be easy for her, but you have to be patient with her. Love her, yes, but don't overwhelm her. She needs time, and she needs you to help her through this, even if she doesn't understand." And then she added slightly teasingly, "London had a meltdown today; didn't she?"

Zack frowned slightly and said gently, "yes, she did, but don't be too hard on her. The reason she had one today was because she was feeling very sad herself. I hate to say it, Bailey, but I think that poor girl is under way too much pressure from her family. Plus, she was extremely upset about Lucy today. She even started crying about it."

Bailey looked slightly concerned as she asked, "what can we do? I feel really bad now because I've been kind of making fun of her without realizing it. I had no idea she was acting the way she was because of all of this pressure. Why didn't she tell anyone? The adults; I mean?"

The eldest twin sighed heavily. "I really don't know," he said worriedly. "I guess, she wasn't sure if she could trust them; considering her behavior back then. However, when she talked to me about all of this for the first time, that was the first time I had ever seen her let out so much emotion. I worry about her as well; not only because she has a learning disability, but because she feels like an outsider because of how rich she is. She hates being rich. She told me so when she was crying like that on my shoulder during the weekend before the beginning of school. I know you feel bad, but don't. Just concentrate on making it up to her and being her friend; that's what she needs, especially now." And with that, Zack walked off to the computer lab to find his partner so that they could finish their homework together.

As the two young teenagers helped each other with their essays; Zack occasionally helping London to spell some of her words correctly since she had the type of dyslexia that made it difficult for her to read in a straight line. With math however, she had no problems except for the fact that she would sometimes get the number sequence mixed up, but Miss Tutweiller understood this now, so she sometimes told London the number sequence verbally so she could understand and not get confused. But luckily there was no math homework tonight; just the personal essays for the project. Although they weren't due until next week, everyone wanted to get a head start on them, especially because all of the students had so many interesting experiences with either being disabled or being a caretaker for the disabled person. Zack and London's essays were probably going to be the most interesting as London herself had a real disability as well as her fake one, and Zack happened to be taking care of someone who was disabled since birth, so they both had a lot to say about the project; both from doing things in the project, and from personal experience. When 4:30 rolled around, they had finished all of their homework and Zack asked London to come with him to the daycare as he promised earlier that day. And since it would be closed in a half an hour, Zack wanted to pick up Lucy before going to dinner with everyone else. But as it turned out, both he and London had to stay there for over an hour, so they asked the kitchen staff to have their meals brought to the daycare center.

In order to explain, let me fast forward a little bit. When the young teenagers came into the ship's daycare center, some of the staff members were extremely agitated. They greeted the young teenagers in a friendly manner, but they all seemed anxious about something, and neither Zack nor London had the faintest idea what was wrong. Even some of the smaller children who were a little older than Lucy looked anxious. Nobody knew what was going on, but it seemed as though something strange was going on. Either that, or the parents just hadn't shown up yet. But since Zack was pretty much the only guardian here, it was a pretty strong possibility that parents being late was the cause of everyone's anxiety. But there was something else as well. The feeling of tension in the air was almost palpable; like something was about to happen, something that would greatly upset a certain little girl.

The tension was so great that one of the smaller babies started to cry. One of the staff members was about to approach the crib where the crying infant was, but Zack said kindly, "it's okay, I'll get them; just relax." And before he did so, he handed over a very sleepy Lucy to London. Zack wasn't sure, but judging by the high-pitched crying the baby was making, he thought that the baby was at least three months old, which in his opinion, was very young, especially for daycare. But when Zack picked up the slightly wiggling infant, he saw that the baby's thumb was in her mouth, which could only mean one thing. "Awe little one; are you hungry? Yeah..." and then, getting the attention of one of the staff members, Zack asked them to warm up a bottle for the baby who had woken up. It took a few minutes, but Zack found himself not only eating his own food, but he was also in the process of feeding a bottle to a very wiggly three-month-old, but Zack was pretty used to small children by now, so it didn't really bother him. The baby had stopped crying by now, and was starting to feel a little sleepy. Zack had figured that it was probably because of the bottle's warmth, so he wasn't worried. However, there was still a lot of tension in the air and some of the older kids who were around three or four years old, were starting to get scared and beginning to cry. Some of them even went over to the older teenager for comfort, but most of them stayed close to the other staff members as much as they could. Even little Lucy was getting kind of fussy. She looked kind of frightened, so London did everything she could to calm her down.

In the meantime, Zack had finished his own food and just had enough time to throw it away in the daycare's trashcan before a truly horrible smell reached his nostrils. Raising an eyebrow, Zack glanced at his friend as if to ask, "check Lucy would you?" But his questioning glance was answered when the three-month-old started crying again. Glancing around, Zack saw a changing station next to the sink along with a pair of rubber gloves which he had put on his hands before proceeding to do the nasty job. "Awe, you just can't get a break; can you? Oh yuck, yuck, yuck!" It took a while, but Zack was finally able to get the infant cleaned up, and he was lucky he did, because as soon as he had finished, and washed his hands, the alarm that signaled that the ship was sinking had finally sounded. And for whatever reason, all of the tension was gone when everyone; babies and toddlers alike began screaming and crying. "London, I'll take the baby with me, you take Lucy," Zack said authoritatively. "We need to get everyone out of here and into the lifeboats. Hurry!"

The younger infant was very frightened, and understandably so. She had no idea what was happening; she had no idea that it was just a drill. For all she knew, it could be a very real thing to her, so Zack did everything he could to keep her safe. It was true that her parents were definitely late in picking her up, but there was nothing that anyone could do about it now. All he cared about was getting all of the kids out and safely.

As luck would have it, Zack and London were able to find a lifeboat quickly and they got in as efficiently as they were able to seeing as they had two children with them; one was absolutely terrified, but not for the same reasons as the infant was. "Calm down, Lucy, it's okay," London's voice was as soothing as it could be. "Nothing is going to hurt you. Zack's here and so am I. don't cry; little girl. It's okay."

After that was over, the parents of the young infant thanked Zack for taking care of their daughter for them while the drill was going on. "You are such a mature young man," the father said appreciatively. "We don't know what we would have done if you hadn't been there."

Zack smiled and answered, "you are welcome, but I actually don't work at the daycare; I am actually one of the students, and one of the small children here was in trusted to me by another one of the passengers who has recently passed on. I was actually picking her up from their when everything happened. Is that why a lot of you were late?" At a nod from the baby's father, Zack sighed with relief. "Well, that's good to know, because a lot of the daycare staff was extremely stressed out. So stressed out in fact that your daughter was feeling the effects, but it turned out to be that she was hungry as well."

The father smiled. "Again, thank you; and thank you for taking care of my daughter."

So for the rest of that night, Zack helped his own surrogate daughter to calm down as best she could. Because she had almost drowned, she knew perfectly well what that alarm meant, and it always triggered bad memories for her. So the teenager had to really take his time with her; especially because she would occasionally have nightmares, which weren't fun in the slightest. So, once again, the young teenager spent most of the night with Lucy; giving her warm milk in hopes that it would help her to fall asleep. And by the time morning had come, Zack was extremely exhausted.


End file.
